Giles Blatchford
Associate Senior Consultant
Agri-Business Operations, Productivity and Business Benchmarking
SPECIALISM – Operations and Technical Management, Diversification projects, Overseas Farm Projects, Livestock and Poultry Production.
Giles Blatchford brings 30 years of experience working in various roles within the Agricultural Industry. His main areas of expertise are based on his experience in:
International Agri-Business Competitiveness and Farm Economics
Agricultural production systems and technical innovations
Leadership and Strategy as a motivator of high-performing teams and talented people
Industry and senior leadership expertise
Prior to joining JP Trett, Giles Blatchford spent 5 years in the UK and Germany playing a leading role in International Farm Economics Networks. At AHDB, as Head of Farm Economics, he was instrumental in accelerating the strategic significance of benchmarking as a tool to improve business planning. At Agri Benchmark, attached to the Thünen Institute in Germany, he was involved in the Livestock and Cash Crops networks accessing economic competitiveness and production system data across more than 70 countries.
International business experience
From 2005, Giles spent 8 years successfully helping to establish new projects or turn around struggling and declining agri-food businesses across the Middle East, Europe and the UK including participating in a major Post-Conflict Reconstruction project in Afghanistan for DIFID.
Foundation of practical farm management
Giles started his career in 1985 as a Farm Worker on the Salisbury plain and rapidly progressed up the management ladder to serve on Directorships of Co-op grain stores, Farmers Markets and Rural community projects.
Giles has a series of practical farm management qualification to support his direct hands-on practical farming experience. He has managed farms both large (32Kha) and small, conventional and organic. He has always tried to establish mixed farming systems maximising the synergies between livestock and cash-crop production systems.
In 2013, Giles successfully completed an MBA with distinction from Norwich Business School at the same time as achieving a CMI Level 7 Diploma in Business Consultancy. In 1997, Giles was part of a cohort completing the Worshipful Company of Farmers Advanced Agricultural Management course to complement his HND in Agriculture from Seale Hayne.
MBA with Distinction (Norwich Business School)
CMI Diploma in Professional Management Consultancy, Level VII,
HND Agriculture, Seale Hayne
Advanced Agricultural Business Management, Wye (Worshipful Company of Farmers)
CIEH Food Hygiene for Supervisors Level III;
CIEH Health and Safety at Work Level II
BASIS & FACTS Professional Agronomy Qualifications and licensing
